Union runs over Towns
Peugh wins head coaching debut 49-0
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Fullback Chris Tanner (#36) supplies a power rushing attack, bulldozing through the Indians on this run. He finished with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The Panthers kicked off the 2006 football season much like they kick off any game, by running through a paper banner onto the field. Unfortunately for the Towns County Indians, that act turned out to be symbolic of the game itself, as the Panthers would go on to run around, over, and through the Indians' defense with almost as much ease. The Panthers big night on the ground came from 12 different players who combined to pile up 351 yards rushing on the night, en route to a 49-0 victory in Head Coach Todd Peugh's first official game as skipper.

"It is nice to win," said Coach Peugh, who felt that the team executed well on offense, and corrected defensive mistakes made in the scrimmage, such as tackling. "The kids played hard," said the coach.

Fullback Chris Tanner led the offensive assault with 111 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries. "In our offense the fullback is really a tailback," said Coach Peugh. The team intends to its fullback as the main option, always attempting to get him involved in the game early and often.

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam The Panthers fumbled the ball into the end zone on this third quarter drive but David Harris (#24) was able to recover it for the touchdown.

Halfback Josh Payne also had a big night, adding 81 rushing yards on 7 carries. Blake Gowder was third in rushing yards with 53 on only four carries. Cody Adams, Kolt Owenby, and Kyle McClure each had a rushing touchdown. According to the coach, using multiple options and executing fakes is a crucial part of the gameplan. Said Coach Peugh, "In this offense you want to make sure the defense does not know where the ball is at."

The dominance on the ground also created opportunities through the air. "The more we run it, the more we'll become successful throwing it," said Coach Peugh. "I think we showed from the scrimmage to the first game that we can throw it if we need to throw it." Indeed, while the Panthers did do the bulk of their damage on the ground, they also proved that they are more than capable of hurting the opposition through the air.

Quarterback Kyle McClure completed all three of his pass attempts, all to 6'4, sure-handed speedster Austin Collins. Earlier in the week Collins was unable to practice as he was still recovering from having his wisdom teeth taken out. But on Friday night he showed no sign of ill effects, as his 100 all purpose yards put him second behind only Tanner. 88 of those yards were receiving yards, including a 45-yard bomb pass that Collins took all the way to the end zone in the second quarter.

"He's a great athlete," said Coach Peugh. "I really don't think he knows how good he can be. He [always] wants to know when we're going to throw it again. He gets excited and that's what we want about all our players."

Freshman kicker Matt Akins also had a big night, handling kickoff duties and hitting a perfect 7/7 in extra points. "That's a very, very important part of a football game," said Coach Peugh. "It's really a big bonus. With him being a freshman we're asking a lot of him, but he's been able to handle the pressure."

Sentinel photos/Jared Putnam Austin Collins (#9) provides the Panthers with a big play threat as both a receiver and a return man. Left: Collins eludes the defender on a punt return. Right: Collins makes the catch, streaking to the endzone for a touchdown.

Overall the team showed good improvement from the scrimmage game to the opener, but the coach said that there should be even more improvement in recent days. "This week we're telling the kids that your biggest improvement should be from game one to game two."

The Panthers forced the Indians to fumble on the opening drive of the game and had recovered a total of three fumbles by the end of the night. Quarterback Kyle McClure scored the first points of 2006 on a 6-yard touchdown run.

The Panthers were most dominant in the second quarter of the game, putting 21 points on the board in that period alone. For the

game Union finished with 439 yards of total offense (averaging 9.1 yards per play) compared to Towns 68 yards of total offense (averaging 1.6 yards per play).

Coach Peugh wants to keep the win in perspective, but feels like there were really good things to build on. In any case, the philosophy of this coaching staff remains centered on a one game at a time mentality. Next up is another away game at Creekview High School. "That's the most important game," said Coach Peugh, "because it is the next one." Union 7 21 14 7 49

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Cody Adams (#5) runs a sweep to the right. Adams later scored on a 5-yard run.

Towns 0 0 0 0 0

Scoring Summary

Q1: McClure 6-yard run (Akins PAT) 10:52 Q2: Adams 5-yard run ( Akins PAT) 10:37

McClure 45-yard pass to Collins (Akins PAT) 9:02

Tanner 13-yard run (Akins PAT) 3:47 Q3: Tanner 8-yard run (Akins PAT) 8:37

Harris fumble recovery (Akins PAT) 4:30 Q4: Kolt Owenby 4-yard run (Akins PAT) 2:11

Passing

7 K. McClure

Rushing #36 C. Tanner

Receiving

Team leaders

#9 A. Collins

3/3, 88 yds, TD, Rushing TD 111 yds, 7.9 avg,, 2 Rushing TD 3 receptions, 88 yds, 45-yard TD